And now, the exciting conclusion to Summer Movie Preview ’06. Woot woot!

Nacho Libre – June 16

I’m having trouble deciding what about this film is most awesome: that it’s about luchadores (They have been denied their own film for far too long), that it’s writer/director Jared Hess’s follow up to the over-exposed-but-still-hilarious Napoleon Dynamite, or that it’s Jack Black’s most fun-looking role since School of Rock. Like Dynamite, the film could be 100 percent quirky humor, but since it is not an independent film, people won’t be upset if it doesn’t have a deeper message (note to all indie filmmakers: Working outside the studio system requires that your film have a message because...um, you’re all indie and stuff). I say bring on the stretchy pants.

Superman Returns – June 30

It seems like Warner Bros. has really dropped the marketing ball on the new Superman movie. I find this shocking, because the last time we had a Superman movie, Ronald Reagan was still President. The troubled history of this project is full of various directors, including Tim Burton, Wolfgang Petersen, McG (Charlie’s Angels), Michael Bay (Armageddon) and the aforementioned Ratner. For a real treat, listen to Kevin Smith’s story about producer Jon Peters’ vision of a non-flying, non-iconic suit-wearing, giant spider-fighting Super-man played by Sean Penn.

While Bryan Singer deserves respect for just completing the damn thing, Superman is not an easy character. He’s kind of a boring guy. He has only one weakness, no emotional baggage and has a bunch of great powers. But I have to believe that Singer will elevate the character above the cheesy Christopher Reeves films (c’mon people, he makes the Earth go back in time by changing its rotation) to something that we can appreciate for its own quality — not because it’s unintentionally hilarious. There are a lot of places this film can go wrong: Will former soap star Brandon Routh be a good Superman? Will the beautiful but soft Kate Bosworth be able to pull off a hard-edged reporter like Lois Lane? Will Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor make us forget recent screw-ups like The Life of David Gale and The Shipping News? It’s all up in the air with the birds and the planes and a flying Man of Steel.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – July 7

If I could only see one film this year, I would be very sad. But with only one choice, there’s no question I would go with the sequel to the excellent Pirates of the Caribbean. Aside from the greatness of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow trying to pay a debt to a Cthulu-looking Davy Jones played by Bill Nighy (Love Actually), this film will have 100 percent more pirating than any other film this year. It has the same director, same writers, same producer and, judging from the trailer, it looks to be the same amount of awesomeness and fun. Savvy?

Miami Vice – July 28

Yes, this would be an incredibly cheesy-looking film that would remind us of ridiculous ’80s outfits and Don Johnson except for one very key element: The film is written and directed by Michael Mann — Mann, who last brought us the excellent Collateral as well as the popular crime film Heat. Oh, and he was also responsible for the original TV show, so that helps. Jamie Foxx will most likely continue to be awesome. My only concern is Colin Farrell, who after three years still has not proved why he deserves to be an A-list star.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Bobby Ricky - August 4

Let’s see, Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay re-teaming after the successful and hilarious Anchorman to make a film, which pokes fun at NASCAR... this could be somewhat amusing.

It has been almost two years since Anchorman and I’m still quoting it daily (my current favorites being “I immediately regret this decision!” and “It’s so hot! Milk was a bad choice!”). But part of what made Anchorman great was the strong supporting cast of Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner. For this film, Koechner’s back along with the talented John C. Reilly (Chicago) and Sasha Baron Cohen (or Ali G. as he is more popularly known).

Snakes on a Plane – August 18

’Nuff said.